Strange Mercy
by emele807
Summary: Sophie and Mia Armstrong are sisters, yet the two are nothing alike. You'd think after their parent's untimely death, the sisters would be closer, but you'd be wrong. Sophie just trying to get things back to normal—going back to Beacon Hills High, and Mia delving deeper and deeper into what their father called a religion—the two could be considered roommates than sisters.
1. Prologue

Mia Armstrong was cold. She was freezing as she locked the restaurant door, feet stomping as she tried to keep herself warm. She was staying at her parents' house for the evening, going over for a family dinner before staying the night. It was tradition. Except this month, something different would be happening. Mia slipped her keys into her pocket and hiked her bag up higher on her shoulder, looking around herself as she hurried to her piece of crap station wagon. She was already late.

Her father opened the door before Mia could even knock, he nodded at Mia and stepped aside, letting her in. "Everything's ready." He said, following Mia into the house.

"Mia!" Mia's younger sister, Sophie cried out before Mia was engulfed in a hug. Her sister smelled of booze, different from the pomegranate body wash she usually smelled of, but Mia didn't care, just cast a knowing look to her father. Her father shrugged, a bemused smile on his face.

"Hey, Sophs." Mia squeezed her younger sister, nuzzling her sister's neck, remembering the moment. "You started drinking without me?"

"Just a taste test." Sophie said, pulling back with a grin. Mia couldn't help but smile at her sister, reaching out to rub her arm. Her sister was always the bubbly and sassy one, quick with a comeback and Mia knew that as much as Sophie didn't believe in the things Mia did, Sophie would still be there for her.

"Why don't you go help Mom with dinner?" Mia suggested, changing the subject.

"Says the one who owns her own restaurant." Sophie said, making a face. Mia rolled her eyes.

"Go!" Mia shooed Sophie away, "I'll be there in a second." Sophie pursed her lips and shook her hips a little before bounding off down the hall, leaving Mia and her father.

"Since when did we start letting the small adult start drinking?" Mia asked with a wry grin.

"I'm gonna miss her." Her father said, heaving a sigh. The grin fell from Mia's face as she realized what was actually going to happen that night.

"It's to protect her." Mia reminded her father, walking past him and going into the small room that was kept locked during the day. She ignored the feeling of dread and the knot of nervousness that was working away at her stomach as she unlocked the door. Mia went inside to gather the herbs and things she needed for the spell.

"You sure you want to do this?" Her father asked, leaning against the doorframe. Mia didn't even glance over her shoulder as she picked up some glass vials.

"Julia said that the alphas were coming. If they know about Sophie…" Mia trailed off, before shaking her head, "If all goes according to plan, the alphas won't even make it to Beacon Hills."

"You're doing this on an _if_." Mia turned around to walk past her father.

"In Beacon Hills, _ifs _are the best we got." Mia said as she brushed past her father.

Mia was out on the deck, preparing her spell as her family got ready for a dinner they would never get to eat. Mia left out one important detail to her father; she wasn't going to harm her sister, she was going to protect her. The flame from a candle flickered around a sliver blade as Mia whispered a spell to consecrate the blade, giving it the power that Mia needed it for.

A slight wind went through the trees, making Mia's hair blow around her as Mia waved her hand in a circle before getting her pendant out. Mia laid the pendant in the center of the circle, chanting the spell as the wind grew stronger. Mia concentrated all of her energy, feeling the power go into the pendant. The lights in the house flickered and Mia looked over her shoulder to see her family in the dining room. Mia picked up the pendant, placing it over her head and letting it rest on her chest.

The wind howled through the air as Mia hurried back into the house, her sleeve over her hand to conceal the dagger. Mia pulled the door shut and heard her mother's footsteps behind her.

"Seems like a pretty nasty—" Mia didn't let her finish, spinning around and slicing the dagger across her mother's throat in one fell swoop. Her mother's eyes went wide as her hands went to her throat.

"I'm sorry." Mia whispered, tears springing to her eyes as she stepped to the side, letting her mother fall to the ground.

She went into the dining room, seeing her sister sitting at the table, smiling at something their father had said. Their father's back was to Mia and Mia quickly stepped up and grabbed his shoulder, before forcing the blade across his throat, blood spilling out.

Sophie screamed, chair tipping back as she stood up in a hurry. Her eyes were wide as Mia stepped around the dining room table. Sophie backed up, tripping over a potted plant, the plant toppling over and Sophie falling down on her ass. The dagger dropped from Mia's hand, clattering to the floor as she stood above her sister. Sophie's breaths were coming in short and hurried as Mia crouched down, hands up.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Mia softly said as Sophie's wide eyes darted around the dining room. Mia could feel the pendant heating up on her chest. Mia took it off and held it in front of Sophie's face.

"Take it." Mia whispered.

Sophie's eyes flicked back to Mia and she hesitantly reached out, grasping the pendant's chain in her hand. The pendant glowed as Sophie pulled the pendant over her head, letting it rest in the middle of her chest.

And as if she was struck by lightning, Sophie's body crumbled as soon as the pendant touched her skin. Mia watched as Sophie cried out, falling back against the floor, writhing. Mia grabbed her sister's arms and held her down as Sophie kicked and screamed, the pendant dulling as the magic seeped into her sister. Mia held onto her sister until Sophie passed out from the pain, and Mia let herself burst into tears, folding herself over Sophie's body as she cried.

Mia carried Sophie out of the house, setting her in the station wagon and driving back to the apartment. She put Sophie on the couch, marking her forehead with a symbol of protection, before driving back to her family's house. She gathered up all the herbs and minerals from the small room before lighting two candles for her parents.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, voice cracking.

The youngest Armstrong wouldn't remember any of what happened. Mia made sure of that. All Sophie would know was that her parents died in a horrific accident. There was an unknown gas leak that blew the house up when their mother lit a candle. A tragedy. An accident.


	2. Chapter 1

_Two Months Later_

The living room was crowded. As was the dining room. And the pool area. Every single space was crowded with teenagers holding blue cups and talking to each other in groups. Sophie Armstrong had a blue cup in her hand, but no one to talk to as she sat on the end of the couch, two couples at the other end, furiously making out. Sophie gave them a disgusted look before getting to her feet.

The only reason why she had come to this stupid party was because…well she didn't really know why she was here. Sophie didn't know anyone, or had any ties to the birthday girl, but her sister told her to get out, find something to do. So she did.

Sophie made her way out of the living room, trying to find somewhere more quiet and not filled with people. There was a door by the wall, which led to the basement. Sophie looked around herself before slipping down the stairs, the door shutting behind her.

If she was looking for quiet, Sophie surely found it. The basement was deserted, only having rows and rows of different wines. Sophie set her blue cup down by the bottom step, walking forward into the maze of wine.

Sophie didn't always like the quiet. She used to be all about parties, getting drunk and dancing and hooking up with strangers. That was her thing. But two months ago, everything changed. Her parents had died an untimely death. The report had deemed it an accident and Sophie accepted it because it was the only thing to do. She couldn't fight it, no one would believe her. She became quiet, not wanting to speak about it, seeking out quiet spaces where she could be alone and think about what actually happened.

Her sister, Mia, and her dad were always big on rituals. Sophie's house was lined with mountain ash so that no supernatural beings could cross over; Sophie wore a ring that was infused with wolfsbane in case of a werewolf attack. And Sophie just went along with it, not questioning that her sister and father might be crazy. There were no such thing as werewolves, or any supernatural being. But it made Mia and her dad happy when Sophie wore the ring.

Luckily, her mom was just as doubtful as Sophie, or so she played it. Sophie was grateful that her mom was there to tell her that Mia and her dad were just exploring, nothing serious would come of it. Sophie never knew that Mia was practicing magic, or that Mia was preparing for a war. Sophie was blissfully unaware and skeptical.

The basement door opened and Sophie heard two people walking down the stairs, laughing as they came. Sophie hid behind one of the shelves of wine, watching as a blonde and a taller, lanky guy walked through the aisle of wine.

"Stiles, I just turned seventeen today." The girl said as she practically pushed him down the aisle. "And you know what I want for my birthday?"

"A bike?" The guy asked back. Sophie grinned to herself as she silently took out a bottle of wine. The girl took off her shoes, discarding them on the floor.

"To not be a seventeen-year-old virgin." The girl whispered back, leaning forward to kiss the guy, Stiles, as she called him. Sophie watched as the two kissed before the girl pulled back.

"You've never done it before either?" She asked.

"Turned seventeen? No, not yet, no." Stiles said back, making a face that Sophie could see.

"Stiles?" The girl asked, leaning forward.

"Yeah, maybe that other thing too." Stiles looked up from the girl and Sophie moved, being paranoid that he could see her.

"Do you want to? I mean, would you be okay with that?" The girl asked.

"Yeah. Would I be okay with that?" Stiles made another face, "I believe so, yeah, um—" The girl cut him off with a kiss. Sophie watched as the girl and Stiles kissed against the wine, her hands traveling down to Stiles' pants.

"Um, wait, wait, wait." Stiles pushed her back slightly, "Wait. I don't have any, uh—"

"My brother has some in the upstairs bathroom." The girl whispered.

"Yeah?" Stiles asked, looking down at the girl.

"Yeah." She nodded.

"Okay, sho—"

"You should go get them." The girl cut Stiles off. Stiles nodded and shifted to the side, before running down the aisle. Sophie heard him bound up the stairs, the basement door opening and then closing. Sophie watched the girl walk down the aisle, smiling to herself as she let her fingers trail over the wine bottles.

The wine bottle Sophie had in her hand, slipped out of her grasp and went smashing to the floor. Sophie froze and kept her eyes on the broken glass.

"Stiles?" The girl called out. Sophie put her hand over her mouth and looked through the space, seeing the girl turn around, looking around the basement. Another wine bottle flew off the shelf, Sophie managed to duck so it didn't hit her. And it went smashing against the other shelf.

"Stiles!" The girl shouted, "This isn't funny!"

Sophie looked up to see the wine bottles explode on the other aisle over, dousing the girl with alcohol and the floor became littered with broken glass. Something bad was happening. And Sophie had no idea how to stop it or what to do, except stand with her back against the wine as the rest exploded, dousing her. The girl screamed, backing up as the wine continued to explode. Sophie watched as she backed up against the wall, breathing heavily. Glass cracked under the girl's bare feet as the basement fell silent. The window above the girl opened up and Sophie saw a hand reach in. She heard another piercing scream from the girl and instinctively shut her eyes, hand over her mouth to cover her own screams.

The basement door slammed closed, making Sophie open her eyes. She looked around herself, seeing that the wine was all intact, there was no glass on the floor and her clothes were dry. The bottle of wine that Sophie had dropped was on the floor, completely intact.

"What the hell?" Sophie whispered to herself.

"Okay. Only got one." It was Stiles' voice. He was back. "I figured, you know, if we needed more, I could—" Sophie saw Stiles through the space. He looked around himself, noticing that the girl was gone, "Heather?" He asked, turning around.

Sophie watched as he spotted the girl's, Heather, shoe. He picked it up and walked away, going back up the stairs. Sophie waited until the door shut to walk out of her aisle of wine. She walked down in the aisle that Heather was in a few moments ago to see that there was nothing that suspected that anything happened. Stiles probably just thought that she went back upstairs.

Sophie ran a hand over her mouth as she walked backwards. She had to tell Mia. Sophie hurried up the basement stairs, pushing the door open. She kept her head down as she walked to the front door, trying not to be noticed. But one person noticed her, Stiles Stilinski.

_Was it really worth it?_ Mia asked herself as she stood in front of the candles; _Mom told you nothing good would come of this alliance. And she was right._

Mia let herself cry in front of her parent's vigil. She had done this. She had killed her parents.

"You got me into this, Dad. Please help me see it through." Mia let out a slow sigh. The back door slammed open and she looked up to see Julia standing on top of the fire escape.

"Not practicing magic are we?" Julia asked.

"I'm praying to my dead parents." Mia snapped back, "Go ahead, pay your respects." Mia gestured to the candles. Julia smiled as she walked down the stairs, looking around the alley that Mia was in.

"You did what had to be done, Mia." Julia said as she stepped off the last step.

"It wasn't right." Mia shook her head.

"It wasn't. But sometimes what has to be done isn't always the right thing." Julia answered her. "Your sister was there tonight." Julia said, causing Mia's head to flick up, her eyes wide.

"Did you—"

"I didn't lay a hand on her, just as we agreed." Julia assured Mia, "But she saw the girl disappear."

"I'll take care of it." Mia said, voice serious. Julia nodded.

"I know you will." Julia said before turning around and walking away.

The restaurant was dark and empty when Sophie unlocked the door to let herself in. She turned back around to lock it, peering out the window to make sure whatever had taken Heather wasn't after her either. Once she was satisfied that she was alone, Sophie turned back around, making her way into the kitchen so she could get upstairs to the little two bedroom apartment she shared with Mia.

"Hey." Mia greeted her sister as Sophie opened the apartment door. Sophie gave Mia a tight smile before walking past her sister and going into her bedroom.

Sophie's bedroom was considerably smaller than her one in the house she used to live in when her parents were still alive. The sisters had moved to the apartment above the restaurant that Mia owned after they buried their parents. Sophie took one room, Mia the other, there was a small kitchen and eating area and then the living room. Nothing too fancy. Sophie had lost all of her belongings in the fire, so her room was sparse.

Sophie didn't really remember the night that her parents died. It was fuzzy, the school guidance counselor saying that her mind was repressing the event. That it was natural. But it didn't feel natural. It felt forced. Sophie remember flashes, being at her home one minute and the next she was waking up on her sister's couch, seeing Mia crying. The news had called it an accident. A gas leak. Mia and Sophie were the only survivors, luckily not being home when the house exploded. They were the lucky ones.

Mia and Sophie hadn't really spoken since their parent's death. Acting more like roommates than sisters. Since their parents were dead, Sophie dropped the act of going along with the rituals that her dad and Mia did. She stopped acting like she cared because she didn't. It wasn't real. Sophie stopped making excuses for her sister's actions and just ignored her instead.

Mia knocked on Sophie's bedroom door. She needed to find out what Sophie saw when Julia took the virgin. "Soph?" Mia called out, shoving her hands into the back pockets of her jeans. "Can I come in?" Mia waited a moment before the bedroom door opened and Sophie stared back at her.

"Yeah?" Sophie asked back.

"How was your night?" Mia innocently asked. Sophie eyed her for a moment before stepping back, turning and walking over to the bed.

"I just went to this party." Sophie said as Mia followed her inside her room.

"Any cute boys there?"

"A few." Sophie shrugged as she folded herself on her bed. Mia nodded and looked around Sophie's room. The girls were silent for a moment before Sophie spoke up.

"Hey, Mia?" Sophie got Mia's attention. "Never mind." Sophie shook her head and looked down at the comforter that was on her bed.

"No, what's up?" Mia asked, brow furrowing.

"It's, uh, it's nothing." Sophie shook her head, "You'll think I'm crazy."

"Doubtful." Mia said, crossing her arms over her chest, "I'm the crazy Armstrong remember?" Sophie looked up at her sister and nodded. There had been plenty of rumors that went around calling Mia Armstrong and her father crazy, devil worshipping lunatics. Sophie had been ostracized at school because of it, but Mia and her father seemed unfazed by the rumors.

"Right." Sophie softly said, "No, it's fine. I was probably just imagining things." Sophie shook her head. Mia sat down on the edge of Sophie's bed, brow furrowing.

"Sophie…" Mia reached out to touch her sister, but then withdrew her hand, remembering that Sophie hated to be touched, "You can tell me." Sophie paused for a moment before looking out the window again and then looking back to Mia.

"There was this couple in this wine cellar… I guess and they were going to do it. But the guy didn't have a condom so he ran off and it was just me and this girl—"

"Did she know you were there?" Mia interrupted. Sophie shook her head.

"No, I don't think so." Sophie pulled her knees to her chest, "And then I dropped this bottle of wine by accident and suddenly all the bottles started to explode." Sophie wasn't looking at Mia, but looking over her shoulder, staring at the wall as she remembered what happened, "The girl was screaming and her back was against the wall and I shut my eyes as she screamed…." Sophie looked back at Mia, hazel eyes wide, "And then it stopped. Everything stopped. And when I opened my eyes…she was gone."

"Maybe she just ran back upstairs."

"No, Mia, but the wine bottles were all cleaned up. There was no mess or anything." Sophie shook her head, pushing up against the back of bed, "It was like it never happened." Mia chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at Sophie.

"You don't believe me." Sophie realized. Then she squinted at her sister, "After everything you've put me through, _you're_ the one who doesn't believe me."

"I think it's possible that you were hallucinating." Mia slowly said, trying to convince her sister that nothing had actually happened, "That you think you saw one thing, when in reality, something entirely different happened." Sophie squinted at Mia.

"Why would I hallucinate? I didn't drink anything."

"You went through a trauma. And your mind could be twisting things." Mia explained, trying to get Sophie to agree with her. Sophie continued to skeptically stare at her sister.

"Fine. Whatever." Sophie put her hands up, "I just thought you'd believe me since you're all about this supernatural crap." Mia gave Sophie a small smile.

"I'll get you something to help you sleep." Mia said, pushing off of Sophie's bed. Sophie watched her sister walk out of her room. She knew what she saw. She knew it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her.

Mia went down the hall into the kitchen, starting to gather up the herbs to make a tea to help Sophie sleep. She hated lying to her sister, it was something she vowed never to do after she killed their parents. But with Julia on edge and Sophie already getting involved, Mia needed to stop Sophie before she got too deep. Before she found out what Mia did.

The next morning, Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall walked down the hall after the Sheriff had pulled Stiles out of class to tell him that Heather was missing. And that Stiles was the last one to have seen her.

"But I wasn't." Stiles was saying to Scott, "I saw Sophie Armstrong walk out of the basement."

"So she was down there the whole time?" Scott asked.

"I don't know!" Stiles flailed a bit, "But what if she went down there and did something?"

"Like what?" Scott asked, rolling his head to look at Stiles.

"Something…evil." Stiles said, stomping his foot.

"Sophie Armstrong is _not _evil." Scott said, making Stiles pull a face. "She's just…" Scott sighed and moved on, not being able to think of a word to describe Sophie.

"What if the alphas took her?" Stiles suggested,

"But what would a pack of alphas need with a beta?" Scott asked as they continued to walk down the hall.

"Scott, I don't know. I don't care. All right? This girl-Our moms were best friends before mine died, all right? We used to take frickin' bubble baths together when we were three. I gotta find her." Stiles seriously said.

"Then we need Isaac to remember." Scott shrugged. Sophie came out of her classroom and went to her locker as the boys continued their trek down the hall.

"How? Peter and Derek couldn't do it." Stiles pointed out as they got closer to Sophie, "You know any other werewolves with a better trick?" Scott's eyes widened as he saw Sophie's head clock at the mention of _werewolves._

"Maybe not a werewolf…" Scott trailed off, looking at the back of Sophie's head. Sophie slammed her locker door and spun around to give a tight smile to the boys before walking off.

"Do you think she heard us?" Stiles asked, voice hushed.

"Probably." Scott sighed before going after Sophie, "Hey, uh, Sophie!" Sophie stopped walking and turned back to look at Scott. She stayed silent as Scott tried to think of how to phrase his question.

"Do you—Are you like your sister?"

"You mean crazy?" Sophie asked back.

"No! No, I don't think your sister is…crazy."

"Well, congrats. You're the first to think so, unlike your best friend, who's been giving me uneasy looks all day." Sophie said before turning back around and walking down the hall.

"What were you planning on achieving with that?" Stiles asked as he came up to Scott, "Asking the craziest girl in school for help?"

"She's not crazy." Scott said, watching as Sophie walked down the steps and then turned a corner. He glanced at Stiles, "Remember the rumors? Her sister is supposed to be some sort of witch. Maybe she can help us find Erica and Boyd."

"A witch?" Stiles asked, rolling forward on his toes as he barked out a laugh, "All I know about Sophie is that she probably had something to do with Heather's disappearance. So I go with _no_ on that whole _get help from the Armstrong sisters _plan." Stiles pointed at Scott before walking down the hall. Scott sighed and followed after his best friend.

Sophie sat by herself in the corner of the library, eating her apple and reading her book._ Heart of Darkness_, a book for English. She was content being alone. What happened the previous night was still fresh in her mind, just like when all the crows in the tri-state area decided to sacrifice themselves against Sophie's English class. Something was coming.

"Hey." Sophie heard a familiar voice say. She looked up to see Stiles staring back down at her. Her eyes widened when she realized that he was the kid from the wine cellar. He was in her English class. He had protected Lydia Martin, his name was Stiles.

Stiles looked around himself before sitting down on the ground so he was eye level with her. Sophie quickly composed herself and started to gather up her things.

"I, uh, have to go—"

"Wait." Stiles reached out for her, "I know you were in the cellar last night." He stopped her from packing up bag.

"What cellar?" Sophie asked. She stared at the boy. They had had a few classes together, English being one, but never spoke before. Stiles was the sheriff's son, everyone knew that, but up close his pale skin was spattered with moles, almost like constellations. Sophie couldn't tear her eyes away from the hazel ones staring back at her until Stiles' voice took her attention.

"Don't play dumb." Stiles snapped out, "What did you do with Heather?"

"I didn't _do_ anything to your precious girlfriend." Sophie snapped back.

"Not my girlfriend." Stiles held up a finger.

"Whatever." Sophie rolled her eyes, "Your _fuckbuddy_." She didn't know what was getting into her, but she was giving all the credit to Stiles for accusing her of doing something to Heather.

"She was a virgin." Stiles said, pointing his finger at Sophie, "But you probably already knew that."

"From what I overheard." Sophie sighed, eyes flicking over Stiles, "And apparently you are too." Stiles squinted at Sophie.

He had seen her around school before her parents died. She wasn't in the same social group; sticking with the party crew, but after her parents' death, Stiles saw that she had drastically changed. There were bags under her eyes and her friends had all about dropped her. She was alone. Stiles shook his head, moving his hands out in front of him to get back on track.

"What did you do to her?" Stiles asked, looking down at his lap for a moment before looking up at Sophie. Sophie noticed how worried he looked. She sighed and looked down at her lap.

"Nothing." Sophie said, shaking her head, "I was down there to get some peace and quiet—"

"You were at a birthday party." Stiles interrupted Sophie, "If you wanted peace and quiet you should've gone to the library." Sophie made a face and looked around herself. Stiles did the same, realizing where they were, "Oh." He managed out, head bobbing.

"Not much for people these days." Sophie looked back at Stiles. "You know, since my house exploded." Sophie pushed to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. She crossed her arms and stared down at Stiles.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Stiles." Sophie said, "But I didn't do anything. And I'd really appreciate it if you stopped accusing me." Sophie stepped around Stiles, "Especially when you're the one talking about werewolves in the middle of the hallway." She said as she walked by Stiles. Stiles' ears perked up at the mention of werewolves and he quickly grabbed his bag and pushed to his feet.

"Wait—" He managed out, running after Sophie, "What do you know about werewolves?"

"Stories my dad used to tell." Sophie shrugged, "I don't believe in it though. More of my sister's thing."

"But your sister's crazy."

"Wow, you're super insensitive." Sophie glanced at Stiles, "Do you have a filter? Or does your brain just think of these things and go _yeah that's okay to say_." Sophie made a face. Stiles swallowed and opened his mouth before closing it after a moment. Sophie shook her head and walked a little bit faster than Stiles, getting away from him.

"Goddamnit." Stiles said, pressing his fist to his forehead, "Way to go, brain, you _suck_."


	3. Chapter 2

Since Stiles had ruined Sophie's quiet and alone time in the library, she decided to go to her other hiding place. There was a giant window in the hall of the high school with a nice ledge for Sophie to sit on. It was a little more public, but most of her fellow classmates seemed to just walk by and ignore her. Most of the time, that is. Other times, Sophie heard the whispers, watched their eyes flick to her and then away, almost scared that Sophie had caught them looking. It had only been two months, but it felt like a lifetime since the fire.

"Mind if I sit?" An unfamiliar voice asked, getting Sophie to look up. Her breath caught as she stared at the guy; he was _hot_.

"Uh—" Sophie coughed, "Sure." She shifted so there was room for the guy to sit down next to her.

"Ethan." The guy said, holding out his hand. Sophie shifted so that she could shake Ethan's hand.

"Sophie." She managed out, "Are you, uh, new?" She asked after letting go of Ethan's hand. Ethan nodded.

"That obvious, huh?" He laughed a little.

"No!" Sophie quickly shouted, then cursed to herself, "I mean, no. I just…never seen you around before."

"Ah, okay." Ethan had an amused smile on his face. Sophie looked away from Ethan, looking back down at her English book. Ethan let his eyes flick over Sophie, landing on the pendant he had so often seen in pictures. It was a smooth turquoise stone with a gold border. This was the Armstrong girl that Deucalion told them to be cautious of.

"That's a nice pendant." Ethan pointed to the pendant. Sophie looked down, almost as if she forgot she was wearing it.

"Yeah." She laughed a little as her hand went to pull at it, "Some family heirloom or something." She was blushing, her heart rate was racing. Ethan figured out that she wasn't scared, but nervous.

"It's pretty." He nodded. Sophie licked her lips in and nodded.

"My sister gave it to me after the fire." Sophie blurted out without even thinking.

"Fire?" Ethan asked, pretending not to know about the Armstrong fire that killed both of Sophie's parents. He wasn't aware of the sister and briefly wondered if he had the wrong Armstrong sister. Sophie was explaining what happened as Ethan debated with himself.

"Sorry, I'm rambling." Sophie gave an embarrassed laugh as she realized that Ethan's eyes were glazing over, "You don't want to hear my sob story." Ethan blinked.

"No, I do—I mean, I'm sorry." Ethan gave her an apologetic smile, "I just…" He saw Danny coming out of one the classrooms, "I got distracted." Sophie followed Ethan's gaze to see Danny talking to one of the lacrosse guys.

"Ah." Suddenly everything made sense. Sophie relaxed and gave a little laugh, "Well, go talk to him." Sophie said, looking back at Ethan.

"Really?" Ethan's brow furrowed.

"Yeah." Sophie gave him a small smile, "I don't mind." She shrugged. "It was nice meeting you." She gathered up her things and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder as she hopped off the window ledge. She gave Ethan a little wave before walking away and down the hall. Ethan watched her for a moment.

"You have no idea, do you?" He asked her, even though he knew Sophie wouldn't be able to hear him.

* * *

><p>Stiles caught up with Scott after the final bell rang. He waited for Scott to grab his books from his locker, watching other students stream out of the classrooms, filling the hallways in groups or pairs. He stuck his hands under his armpits, eyes flicking around the hallway before they landed on a familiar figure. Sophie.<p>

He watched her shove a book into her messenger bag, head down as she walked before she tossed her hair over her shoulder, looking around the hallway. Stiles silently wished that she would look over to where he was standing, but Sophie completely looked the other way, back turning away from Stiles.

"So do you really thing that Sophie is a witch?" Stiles suddenly asked, head lolling to look at Scott. Scott glanced over to Stiles.

"I don't know." Scott shrugged, "Could be. I don't know her that well."

"Yeah, neither do I." Stiles shifted against the lockers, "I mean, I tried to talk to her…" He motioned with his hand, "But that didn't go to well." Scott gave Stiles an amused smile as he shut his locker door.

"Oh yeah?"

"I _might_ have called her crazy…?" Stiles squinted, scratching the back of his neck as Scott slipped his arm through his backpack strap.

"You sure know how to win a girl over." Scott laughed, shaking his head.

"Hey!" Stiles pushed off the lockers, "She was in the cellar last night. She saw what happened."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked, eyebrows raising.

"…Yes." Stiles hesitantly said.

"Did you ask her?" Scott asked, hands going to rest on his backpack straps.

"No." Stiles sighed out, "I kinda just…accused her." He motioned with his hands again.

"Wow, dude, no wonder she hates you." Scott laughed as the two of them walked down the hall.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Stiles waved his hand in the air, "So do we have a plan or not?"

* * *

><p>Sophie pulled the door to her sister's restaurant, The Cauldron, and pressed her messenger bag close to her side as she walked through the maze of tables and customers. She kept her head down, going to the counter and walking around so she could get to the staircase.<p>

"Sophie!" Her sister cheered. Sophie looked up and gave Mia a tight smile. "How was school?" She asked, wiping her hands on a rag.

"Fine." Sophie shrugged, "New English teacher is still a little freaked from the attack the other day. The girl from the party was declared missing…" Sophie trailed off, "Stiles Stilinski was talking about werewolves." Sophie made her eyes wide and shook her head. Mia's breath caught, but she quickly composed herself.

"Werewolves?" Mia raised her eyebrow, "Thought you didn't believe in that stuff."

"I don't." Sophie shrugged, "I just thought it was weird." Mia didn't say anything. Sophie leaned against the wall as Mia wiped down one of the coffee machines. She watched her sister for a minute before pushing off the wall.

"I'll be upstairs." Sophie said, hand going to play with the pendant around her neck.

"I'll be up in a bit." Mia said with a smile. Sophie nodded and shifted her bag up on her shoulder. She back around the counter and went through one of the doors that led to a staircase. Sophie went up the stairs and pushed open the door to the apartment.

Sophie headed for Mia's room instead of her own, pushing the bedroom door open. She knew that her sister had kept copies of the books that her dad had spent nights studying and reading. There was a bookcase against the wall of the bedroom. Sophie went over and picked the oldest looking book, putting it into her bag. She headed out of her sister's bedroom and went into her own, shutting and locking the door. Sophie went over to her bed, climbing onto the mattress and pulling her bag onto her lap. She opened her bag and pulled out the book. She wanted to know more about werewolves and their traditions. Stiles had piqued her interest.

* * *

><p>There was a knock at Mia's office door and she looked over to see Julia leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed and a smile on her face.<p>

"I thought I told you not to come here during work hours." Mia said, getting out of her chair and pulling Julia in, shutting the office door behind her.

"Can't I say hello to one of my favorite witches?" Julia asked with a smile on her face. Mia gave her a look. Julia walked over to the desk and perched herself on the edge.

"Is everything taken care of with Sophie?" Julia asked, "She seemed…distracted in class."

"Probably still a little shaken up." Mia truthfully answered, "This is the first major tragedy she's had to deal with since…" Mia trailed off, shaking her head.

"Tragedy?" Julia let out a little laugh, "Sophie didn't even know the virgin girl."

"She was still there." Mia snapped out, eyes narrowing at Julia. Julia pursed her lips and nodded.

"Understandable."

"She's in for the night." Mia continued, "I tracked the next two down." Mia walked over to her desk and grabbed a folder, handing it to Julia. What little magic Mia had left, she used for Julia's benefit. It was part of the deal; except Julia had no idea the kind of power that Sophie had. Hell, Sophie didn't even know the power that was inside of her.

"This is why you're my favorite." Julia sighed out, opening the folder and looking at the faces of the next two victims. Mia didn't say anything. "Oh, don't get so blandly moral on me." Julia lightly hit Mia with the folder.

"I'm not." Mia airily said, lifting her chin, "Now please leave before Sophie comes down." Julia sighed and got off the desk, walking past Mia and out of the office. Mia waited thirty seconds after the office door closed before taking in a shaky breath and covering her face with her hands. She had just sacrificed two innocent people. And there were so many more to go.

Mia shook her hands out and turned back around, heading for the office door. She had to find those werewolves that Sophie was talking about. She figured that it wasn't the Alpha pack; they hadn't made an appearance yet, to Sophie's knowledge. It was probably the Hale pack, but what was the sheriff's son doing with the Hales?

The restaurant was fairly busy with the usual dinner rush, but Mia noticed a taller boy wearing a plaid flannel, looking around rather anxiously. She saw the hostess go over to him and ask how many would be in his party. Mia moved forward, realizing that the kid was the sheriff's son.

"Stiles." Mia said with a charming smile. Stiles' eyes flicked over at the sound of his name, landing on Mia. "Can I help you?"

"I was looking for Sophie." Stiles said, shoving a hand into the back pocket of his jeans, "We have a class together and I missed today so…" He trailed off. Mia was wary; Stiles wasn't the type that Sophie would hang out or exchange notes with, but that was before the fire. And Mia had to give Stiles the benefit of the doubt.

"She's upstairs. I was just going to head up there if you wanted to come with." Mia offered, thumbing behind her. Stiles' mouth opened slightly as he debated going up to the apartment with Mia.

"Uh…you know, it's fine. I'll just…see her tomorrow." Stiles made a face, stomach twisting at the thought of going beyond the restaurant part of the Armstrong sisters. He wondered how the restaurant was still in business with all the rumors. The food must be some kind of wonderful.

"You sure?" Mia asked, charming smile still on her face.

"Yeah." Stiles bobbed his head in a nod, "Just tell her I stopped by."

"Will do." Mia nodded, having no intention on telling Sophie about Stiles _stopping by_. Stiles nodded again before turning and walking out of the restaurant. Mia watched him go before smiling at the hostess and walking back to the stairs that led to the apartment.

Once he was outside, Stiles turned to look at the restaurant, letting his eyes go up to where the apartment was. There was a window above him and he wondered if it was Sophie's room. Wondered what she was doing in there, if she had Heather with her. Stiles knew, deep down, that Sophie didn't actually do anything with Heather, but it was the only thing keeping him somewhat sane. Letting out a sigh, Stiles shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away from the restaurant, climbing into his Jeep and going to pick up Scott.

* * *

><p>Mia went up the stairs to the apartment, heading for her bedroom and grabbing one of the grimoires, not noticing that the book of shadows was missing. She sat herself on the middle of her bedroom floor, opening up to tracking spell page. Mia reached under bed and pulled out her trunk of knick knacks. Marin Morell had been extremely helpful in the beginning; giving Mia different items to help maintain balance. Mia selected one of the claws from Derek Hale's hand. He was the newest Alpha of the pack, which meant he had the most power.<p>

She placed the claw next to a map of Beacon Hills that she spread out on the floor. She took a handful of mountain ash and held it in her fist, flipping her fist over the map and letting the ash pool onto the center of the map. Closing her eyes, Mia flattened her palm out over the map, feeling the pull of the ash and a slight wind blow her hair back.

Outside of Sophie's window, thunder clattered and lightening flashed. Sophie looked over to see that her window was slightly open. She pushed off of her bed and went over to push it down as a roll of thunder echoed through the air. Sophie looked out her window, seeing the storm roll in across the dark sky, not realizing it wasn't entirely natural.

The lights in Deaton's office flashed as Isaac thrashed in the ice bath, yelling that _they were here_. Stiles looked over his shoulder, watching the lights flash and hearing the thunder roll, his eyebrows raised before meeting Scott's gaze. He looked just as confused, if not worried. The night was supposed to be clear, not a single cloud in the sky, let alone a full on storm. Isaac couldn't be doing this. This wasn't a coincidence either, Stiles knew that much. Derek was yelling at Isaac to remember while Stiles' thoughts drifted back to his conversation with Scott about Sophie Armstrong. What if Scott was right? What if Sophie Armstrong was a witch?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you for all the favorites and followers! Huge thanks to those who reviewed: aPaperheaRt, whistleforthechoir18 and Stilinski Power!**


	4. Chapter 3

Derek noticed the mark after he got back to the loft with Isaac. It was on his forearm, a small circle with a line through it. He knew the mark. He had seen it before in books that his mother kept around the house. It was the mark of an Armstrong. Telling Isaac that he was going out, Derek left the apartment, heading for the Cauldron. He had to speak with Mia.

Mia was wiping down one of the tables, the restaurant empty and closed as she went. She had found Derek Hale and it was only a matter of time until he showed up at her door, demanding answers. She knew where the pack was, but didn't exactly know what they were doing. The vet's office seemed oddly ironic to have a pack meeting. Mia knew that there were two other werewolves with Derek, their identities still a mystery. Her father was supposed to take care of the list whenever there was a new werewolf; he had an agreement with Deaton. But the list hadn't been updated since the Hales. Derek would tell her though, or else there would be consequences.

The door chimed as someone stepped into the restaurant. Mia didn't look up from the table she was wiping down, just calling out, "We're closed."

"Surprised you can even open." A familiar voice said back. Mia smiled to herself before looking over at the werewolf at the door. "There must be something…magical about the food." Derek said, arms crossed over his chest.

"Something like that." Mia said, making a face as she straightened up. "I see you got my message." Mia motioned to his arm where she knew there was a mark.

"What the hell do you want?" Derek all about spat out. Mia shrugged as she walked, tossing the rag on the counter of the bar.

"I want to know who the other werewolves are." Mia said.

"You already know." Derek said, eyes narrowing.

"Come on, Derek. You and I both know that's not true." Mia shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just need to know. For reference."

"Reference." Derek stated back. He cocked an eyebrow, "For your book of supernatural beings."

"Is it really that bad that I want to know who are and who aren't werewolves?" Mia asked, walking closer to Derek, "I'm not going to hurt them. I just need to know—"

"For reference." Derek ended for her. Mia gave him a wry smile. Derek sighed and looked away from her.

"And, uh, what were you doing at the vet's office?" Mia asked, "I mean, we both know he's not actually a vet." Mia's eyes went wide as she rocked back on her heels. Derek laughed a little.

"Can't have you knowing all of my secrets now can I?" Derek asked. Mia gave Derek an amused smile before looking down at her feet.

"I'm just trying to protect my sister." She said, lifting her head, her messy bun moving as she moved her head. Derek leaned closer to Mia, face inches from the witch's.

"Then you should've thought about that before you burned your family alive." Derek whispered out.

Mia raised her eyebrows, staring at Derek before she moved her hands. She moved her hands to the back of Derek's neck, pulling his head closer and leaning forward so that her lips pressed against his. Derek kissed her back, hands going to her hips. Mia moved her fingers through Derek's hair, pulling a bit before she broke away.

"Names?" She asked, voice just a whisper.

"Scott McCall and Isaac Lahey." Derek managed back, eyes still closed.

Mia smiled and kissed Derek again, slowly pulling back and hearing Derek exhale. Her hands left his hair and neck, dropping back to her sides where she pushed Derek's hands off of her. Derek opened his eyes and looked at her before his gaze dropped down to where her hand was pushing up his shirt sleeve. The mark was gone, skin smooth like it was before. He met Mia's charming smile and glared at her for a moment.

"Never again." He grumbled out.

"You said that last time." Mia reminded him, tapping his arm.

Derek pushed back, pulling down his sleeve. He gave Mia one last look before turning away from her and stomping out of the restaurant, door slamming behind him. Mia wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, shivering a bit as she turned and walked back to grab the rag and finish cleaning up.

* * *

><p>The next day, Sophie was heading out of English when Ms. Blake called her back. Sophie walked over to the teacher's desk, a little nervous. She had done the readings and the homework, so she didn't know why Ms. Blake wanted to talk to her.<p>

"Hey, Sophie." Ms. Blake said, shuffling her papers, "I just wanted to ask a favor." Sophie didn't say anything, just looked around herself as the rest of her classmates started to leave and the next class started to come in.

"I need some help with these papers, and since you're the only one who seems to grasp the concept of the book, maybe you could stay a little late today and help me out?"

"Uh, sure." Sophie blinked, "But are you sure you want me?" She asked, eyebrows furrowing, "I mean, there's a lot of other people who get the book..." Sophie trailed off, "Yeah, I can do it." She nodded.

"Great!" Ms. Blake smiled at Sophie, "You can come back later tonight if that works. I'll give you some time to work on other class homework first." Ms. Blake winked at Sophie.

"Sure, sure." Sophie nodded, turning to walk out of the classroom, "Bye, Ms. Blake."

Sophie found her best friend, Lexi, sitting at one of the library tables during study. She had the book that she found in Mia's room in her backpack and was dying to tell _someone _about what she found. Someone besides Stiles Stilinski, who she didn't trust very much. Especially after he accused her about doing something to his precious Heather. He had given her weird looks all throughout English.

"Hey, girlie." Lexi greeted Sophie, "Decided to come back to the real world?"

"I'm sorry." Sophie immediately apologized.

She had fallen off the radar after her parents' death and didn't talk to any of her friends for two months. Most of them had deleted her contact info and moved on, but Lexi understood what was happening. And she let Sophie have her space, silently being there for her, even if Sophie didn't want to talk.

"What's with the book?" Lexi asked after giving Sophie a look. Sophie dropped down into a chair across from Lexi.

"Okay, you know that I loathe and hate all things supernatural and that I think that they're ridiculous _delusions_." Sophie started off, motioning with her hand. Lexi nodded, sipping her coffee.

"But something happened." Sophie finished.

"Oo, do tell." Lexi said, giving Sophie a smile. Sophie took in a breath and twisted her hair back before launching into the story of what happened at the birthday party. Lexi listened intently, eyes on Sophie the entire time.

"And then that got me thinking _what if_, ya know?" Sophie flattened her palms on the table, "What if werewolves are actually real? And what if werewolves took that girl?"

"But you said the wine was all cleaned up." Lexi pointed out, "What explains that?"

"I don't know." Sophie waved her hand in the air, "Doesn't matter. I found this book in Mia's room and—"

"So you believe now." Lexi stated, "In werewolves."

"Shapeshifters." Sophie corrected Lexi. Lexi gave her an unamused look. "I mean, it's all here." Sophie motioned to the book on the table, "It's got a whole _section_ on werewolves. Names and birthdates and death-dates." Sophie opened the book and pushed it forward for Lexi to look at. Lexi peered at the pages as she sipped her coffee.

"Seems interesting." Lexi bobbed her head in a nod, eyebrows raised as she looked at Sophie, "But you really think that all of this is true?"

"It could be." Sophie shrugged, "It explains all the animal attacks."

"They were ruled mountain lion attacks." Lexi pointed out.

"Do you really think a mountain lion could cut someone in half?" Sophie asked, eyebrows raised.

"There are no wolves in California though." Lexi was playing devil's advocate.

"But there could be werewolves." Sophie pointed at Lexi, raising her chin a bit. Lexi looked unconvinced. "Just read it." Sophie pushed the book closer to Lexi, "Humor me."

"Fine." Lexi gave in, sighing as she pulled the book to her, resting it on her lap.

"Hey, Sophie." Stiles' voice made Sophie look up at Stiles, who was standing in front of their table, hands on his backpack straps. His eyes darted to Lexi, who stared at him as she sipped his coffee.

"Could I, uh, talk to you for a second?" Stiles asked, eyes floating back to Sophie.

"Uhm…I'm kinda busy." Sophie made a face and looked at Lexi.

"No, you're not." Lexi said, giving Sophie a look.

"I'm talking to you." Sophie motioned to her best friend. Stiles looked at Lexi, who looked at him before sighing.

"Well, now I'm leaving, so you two can _talk_." Lexi said as she gathered up her books, Sophie's big book included. Sophie shot a distressed look, but Lexi chose to ignore it as she pushed out of her chair and walked away from the two.

"So, uh…" Stiles didn't really know how to start. Sophie started to pick up her bag.

"I gotta go." She said, going to move past him.

"Wait! Wait." Stiles put his hand out, stopping her, "I wanted to apologize."

"Really." Sophie looked doubtful as she moved her hand up the strap of her bag. Stiles swallowed and nodded.

"Yeah, for, you know…accusing you of kidnapping Heather."

"Did they find her?" Sophie asked, brow furrowing.

"Uh, no." Stiles shook his head, "But I shouldn't have just thought you did something because you were down there." Sophie raised her eyebrows at him.

"Right, well…" Sophie trailed off, "Anything else?"

"What did you see down there?" Stiles asked, squinting a bit. Sophie licked her lips and looked around the library. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to the pair.

"All the bottles just started exploding." Sophie quietly said, leaning forward, "And she was screaming and then it was all over."

"But there were no bottles broken when I went down there." Stiles looked confused.

"That's the freaky part." Sophie said, nodding a bit, "It was like it was…"

"Magic." Stiles finished for her. Sophie's eyes met his and she nodded, face serious.

"Yeah." She quietly said. "Listen, I gotta go." She thumbed over her shoulder, "Lexi took my book and I—kinda need it back." She lied, trying to get out of the conversation. Stiles nodded and Sophie gave him a small smile as she went past him.

"Hey, wait." Stiles turned and grabbed her arm, "Did your sister mention that I stopped by last night?" Sophie's brow furrowed as she shook her head.

"No, I didn't see her all night." Stiles hand dropped from Sophie's arm, "You came by the restaurant?"

"I was looking for you." He lamely said, "I wanted to talk about what we just talked about."

"Oh." Was all Sophie could think to say, "Well, I'm sure she just forgot or something."

"Right." Stiles nodded and made a face, "Yeah, it's fine." Sophie nodded again and went to walk away from Stiles before turning and looking back at him.

"If you come by again, just use the fire escape. You can get to my room easier." Sophie said, "I mean, knock first or whatever, but it's easier than going through the restaurant. Plus you can—I'm rambling." She realized. Stiles gave her a little half smile. Sophie's fingers went to play with the pendant and Stiles watched the light bounce off of the smooth stone.

"It's okay." He said. Sophie looked down at her feet, smiling down at her sneakers , "Or I could just call beforehand."

"Or that." Sophie laughed, nodding as she looked up. Stiles stared at her for a beat until Sophie realized what he needed, "Oh! My number, right." She went into her bag for a pen and a piece of notebook paper. She quickly wrote out her number and handed it to Stiles.

"I'll, uh, see you around." Sophie said. Stiles glanced at the number before folding the piece of paper up and shoving it in his pocket.

"Yeah." Stiles nodded, "We share classes together."

"Right." Sophie laughed a little, "Bye, Stiles."

Lexi was waiting for Sophie outside of the library, head bent over the book. Her head went up as Sophie came out of the library and she grinned at her best friend.

"Sophie Armstrong, are you _smiling_?" Lexi asked, pushing off of the wall and closing the book.

"What?" Sophie was in fact smiling. She put her hand to her mouth and shook her head, "No."

"You have a crush." Lexi sang out, "And he's cute too." She gave Sophie a sly grin.

"Shut up." Sophie shoved her best friend. "I don't have a crush on him."

"Why? He's cute and totally into you." Lexi's eyes were wide, "I mean, I don't like the fact that he thought you were a murderer…"

"Which is exactly the reason I don't like him." Sophie pointed at her best friend, "He thinks I'm some kind of crazy witch."

"I mean, with all those rumors going around, who wouldn't think that?"

"Lex!" Sophie gasped, "I thought you didn't listen to those!"

"Well, when your best friend goes AWOL for two months, you kinda have to rely on unreliable sources like Lydia Martin to check up on her." Sophie groaned and tipped her head back.

"So about these werewolves…" Lexi trailed off.

"Let's not talk about it in the middle of the hall." Sophie looked around herself, "Don't need people thinking I'm crazier than I already am."

* * *

><p>The piece of paper with Sophie's number on it, felt like it was a hundred pounds rather than just a piece of paper. Stiles' hand kept going to it, making sure he hadn't lost it or accidentally pulled it out like with the condom. He was going to call Sophie later that night, just to make sure that it wasn't a fake number. Sophie didn't seem like the type, but Stiles could never be too sure.<p>

"So did you talk to her?" Scott asked as he met up with Stiles in the library later that day. "Apologize and all that?"

"Yeah…" Stiles trailed off, "Yeah, we're fine." He nodded.

"But you still think that she had something to do with it."

"Maybe not with Heather, but that storm last night…what if it was her?" Stiles asked, leaning forward.

"And what exactly was she doing?" Scott asked, eyebrows raised.

"I don't know, but the weather report showed no signs of a storm for the entire night and then while we were working with Isaac…"

"The storm." Scott nodded. "It could've just been a coincidence."

"Right, yeah." Stiles made a face.

There had to be a way to ask Sophie about her magical background. She seemed completely unaware, or maybe she just didn't care. If people kept talking about him being crazy or a witch, Stiles would have a hard time ignoring it. But maybe Sophie was stronger than him.

"I don't think Lexi Campbell likes me very much." Stiles suddenly said, getting Scott to look up at him.

"Oh really?" Scott asked, "Maybe cause you accused her best friend of being a murderer." Stiles made a face and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that could be it."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thank you to all those who have followed and favorited this story! I hope you guys are still enjoying it! Thank you to all those who reviewed: whistleforthechoir18, BayareaBeliever, and StilinskiPower! You all rock! xxx**


	5. Chapter 4

Sophie pushed through the small hole in the worn out gate. She stepped through it and found herself on top of one of the hills that littered throughout the graveyard. It wasn't _actually _a graveyard. It was a place in the middle of the Preserve where Mia blessed, but sure felt like a graveyard.

The sky was dark and she was alone. She still had to go back to the school to help Ms. Blake with whatever she had planned. Apparently it wasn't supposed to take long and Ms. Blake would be there all night. Sophie looked up to see the full moon shining down on her as she walked through the graveyard, heading to her parents' graves.

She remembered the "funeral" like it was yesterday; it was just Sophie and Mia. Mia had hired someone to dig two six feet holes and Sophie remembered Mia consecrating both of her parents. Trying to get whatever _magic _was left. Sophie just stood by and watched, arms crossed over her chest and tears rolling down her cheeks as Mia said some unfamiliar words and blessed the remains of their bodies. And then it was over. Sophie helped bury her parents, shoveling dirt onto the graves and marking them with a stone.

Sophie crouched down and swept her hand over the stones, dispelling the dirt. She stared at the stones before hearing the sound of crunching leaves. Her head lifted up and she looked over her shoulder to see a figure standing a little ways away from her. The moon made the chain around the figure's neck glint.

"Nick?" Sophie called out, brow furrowing, "Nick!" She screamed out.

"Jesus, Sophie." Nick's voice came floating back to her. Sophie sighed out a breath of relief before realizing that Nick had followed her out here.

"What are you doing, Nick? Following me?" Sophie asked, turning around to look at her sister's boyfriend. She crossed her arms over her chest, "Isn't that a little much?"

"Your sister's worried about you." Nick replied, shoving his hands into his pockets, "You left without saying anything."

"Oh, so now I have to tell her where I'm going at all times? And if not, she'll sick her boyfriend on me?"

"No…" Nick rocked back on his heels, "Just at night. On full moons. You know what they say…" Nick smiled, trying to get Sophie to smile. Sophie stared at him.

"No, I don't." Sophie said, shaking her head, "What do they say? Full moons equals werewolf attacks?" Nick gave Sophie an unamused look, "Just leave me alone, Nick." Sophie shook her head, "I'm just trying to be alone with my dead parents."

Nick watched the younger Armstrong girl look back down to where her parents were buried. Nick knew that Mia had consecrated her parents, transferring whatever magic they had left to Sophie. He knew how hurt Sophie had been upon finding out that her parents weren't going to be buried in a cemetery, like normal parents were supposed to be. Nick watched Sophie for a moment more before stepping away, putting his hands on his hips and turning away.

Sophie heard Nick's footsteps fall away and a silence settle around her. She took in a breath and looked around herself, finding that she was alone. Licking her lips, Sophie started walking away from her parent's graves. Two wolf howls echoed throughout the air, piercing the silence that Sophie wanted. She couldn't help but quicken her pace as she walked through the Preserve. That's when she heard something crack.

"Nick?" Sophie stopped walking, calling out to the seemingly empty area. There was nothing but silence, "Nick, this isn't funny!" She cried out before hearing a low growl. Her heart jumped to her throat as she heard the growl. Turning, she saw a pair of golden eyes staring back at her. Sophie's eyes went wide as the figure stepped out of the shadows, it was a girl. A girl with a wolfish face, claws and fangs coming out.

Sophie tripped over herself as she tried to back away from the girl—werewolf, whatever she was. The werewolf advanced, snarling as she fell into a predatory crouch. Then Sophie's back hit something solid and it wasn't a tree. She spun around, scream catching in her throat as she stared at Scott McCall.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking concerned. Sophie looked over her shoulder as she heard another growl, seeing another figure come out and slam into the werewolf girl.

"Sophie!" Scott's voice got her attention. She looked at the boy, whose eyes were wide, "Go! Get out of here." He urged, hands on her shoulders.

"What are they?" Sophie managed out as she heard another growl and the sound of bodies colliding.

"You know." Scott looked away from her, over her shoulder. Sophie nodded to herself, looking down and to the side.

"Werewolves." She whispered. Scott jerked her to the side, making Sophie lose her balance and tumble to the ground.

"Run." His eyes flashed a bright gold before he turned away from her, dodging the girl's punches. Sophie scrambled to her feet, pushing off into a sprint as she blindly ran through the Preserve. She was terrified, her heart hammering against her ribcage as her breath came fast and short.

Sophie didn't know how long she had been running when she finally stopped, leaning against a tree. Her lungs burned and her eyes were watering, but Sophie didn't know why. Her fingers instantly went to the pendant around her neck as she wildly looked around herself. There was no sign of the werewolf girl. Or Scott, or the other figure she had saw.

"Werewolves." Sophie breathed out, "Holy _shit_." She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment before reopening them. Werewolves were real. Just as Mia had tried to tell her, tried to convince her of, and Sophie just ignored her, thought of her sister as crazy. And all along, Mia was right.

Sophie pushed into The Cauldron, hair flying out behind her as she ran into the restaurant. Halley saw her first as she was setting food down to her table. She stepped up to Sophie, trying to catch her eye as Sophie looked around the restaurant.

"Woah, woah, where's the fire?" Halley asked, putting up her hands.

"Is Mia here?" Sophie asked, not looking at Halley. Halley shook her head, her face looking concerned.

"No, she went out." Halley answered, "Sophie, what's wrong?" Sophie finally looked at Halley. She took in a breath as Halley studied her.

"Nothing." Sophie raised her eyebrows and shook her head slightly, "Nothing's wrong."

"You came running in here like a bat outta hell." Halley shook her head as she motioned with her hands, "Whatta mean nothing's wrong?"

"I mean, nothing's wrong." Sophie plastered a smile on her face, "I, uh, just remembered I have to be somewhere." Sophie contorted her facial features to make herself look sorry.

"Right now?" Halley pointed down at the ground, staring at her best friend's younger sister.

"Right now." Sophie nodded, backing up from Halley.

"Sophie—"

"Bye, Halley!" Sophie quickly said before spinning around and hurrying out of the restaurant. Halley watched her go, brow furrowed in confusion before she shook her head, turning back to her tables and making sure everything was okay.

Once Sophie was outside of the restaurant, she didn't know where to go. She had to go to the school, that was obvious, but Sophie didn't know if she could. She had to talk to someone about what she had just saw and the only person who would believe her was either Mia or Stiles. She had no idea where Mia was—she wasn't answering her cell, and Sophie didn't even _have _Stiles' number. Stiles had hers, but he had yet to call.

Sophie started to walk to the school as she tried to keep herself calm. She could act like a normal person, she had to act like a normal person, who wasn't just terrified by werewolves. The word still felt weird, like she wasn't supposed to say it or think it or believe in it. But that's what she saw. She saw a werewolf. Scott McCall was a werewolf. Scott was a werewolf. Sophie had to pause on her walk just to take in that information. She could barely believe it herself.

The school was practically empty when Sophie got there. She opened the unlocked door and stepped inside, walking down the hall and looking over her shoulder with every other step. The attack in the woods had put her on high alert and Sophie couldn't help but feel like something very very bad was about to happen.

Sophie walked into Ms. Blake's classroom, seeing that it was empty. Her brow furrowed as she walked over to the desk, noticing that there were papers and a bag sitting by the desk. She was in the school, just not in the classroom.

"Ms. Blake?" Sophie called out, knowing she wouldn't get a response. She looked around herself before walking back out of the classroom. She checked her phone to see that it was close to two am. It didn't feel as late as it was. Sophie sighed, walking down the hall; she had to at least try to find Ms. Blake and show her that she showed up, even if Ms. Blake just told her to go home.

Her sneakers squeaked against the floor as Sophie walked down the hall, peering into any open classroom, trying to find her English teacher. Sophie went down the stairs, heading for the boiler room, thinking that Ms. Blake needed to get supplies or something. She had looked everywhere else.

The door to the boiler room slammed shut behind Sophie as she walked down the stairs, arms around her waist. Sophie slowly made her way down the stairs, blinking a bit to keep herself awake. It had been a long and tiring night and it still wasn't over.

"Ms. Blake?" Sophie called out as she stepped into the boiler room.

"Back here!" Ms. Blake's voice came back. Sophie sighed out a breath of relief as she walked down the stairs. She made her way back to the supply room, trying not to be scared of the hissing pipes and pumps.

"Sorry, I'm so late." Sophie apologized as she got to the supply room.

"Well, you're incredibly early for class." Ms. Blake gave Sophie a warm smile. Sophie returned it, laughing a little at her teacher's joke.

"Do you need any help?" Sophie shoved her hands into her back pockets. Ms. Blake held out a stack of printer paper with a stapler on top. Sophie reached out to take the stack as Ms. Blake went deeper into the supply room.

"I am impressed that you still showed up." Ms. Blake talked as she moved.

"I don't like to disappoint people." Sophie truthfully said.

"That's a good quality to have." Ms. Blake glanced over her shoulder and gave Sophie another smile. Sophie returned before looking down at her feet. Then she heard the clang of the boiler door opening and closing quickly.

"Did you hear that?" Sophie asked, looking over her shoulder. Ms. Blake didn't respond and Sophie moved away from the teacher, hearing the growls that she had heard in the woods earlier in the evening.

"You're probably just imagining things." Sophie whispered to herself, shaking her head slightly and turning back to where Mrs. Blake was picking up some folders. Then she heard the boiler room door slam shut.

"Okay, you def heard something, right?" Sophie asked, looking over at Ms. Blake.

"This room echoes, Sophie." Ms. Blake shook her head, "It was probably nothing." Ms. Blake gave her a reassuring smile. Sophie chewed down on her bottom lip as she heard a low growl coming from behind her. Ms. Blake seemed to hear it as well, because she picked her head up and looked to the exit of the supply room.

"Hello?" Ms. Blake called out, walking forward and towards the exit. Sophie followed, swallowing the fear that was beginning to form.

Sophie thought she was imagining things when she saw the werewolf girl from the woods standing in front of the exit of the supply room. There was another werewolf with her, he was dark skinned and looked like he could crush Sophie's head in his hands. Sophie managed not to scream as the werewolves growled at both her and Ms. Blake. She grabbed the stapler from the top of the stack of printer paper and hurled it at the girl werewolf, smacking her in the forehead.

"That didn't work." Sophie mumbled as the girl werewolf let out a roar. All the stapler had done was make the girl more angry, as if that was possible.

Then this blur came out of nowhere and slammed against the two werewolves, giving Sophie time to drop the printer paper and Ms. Blake pulled her back into the room with one hand while her other hand closed the gate to the supply room. Sophie knew that it wouldn't help against rabid werewolves, but it was something of a comfort to know that they were separated.

Ms. Blake took Sophie's hand and walked backwards, tugging the girl with her. She couldn't believe that this was happening. Of all the nights she decided to have Mia's younger sister come in and help; werewolves decided to attack and trap them in the boiler room. She'd have trouble explaining this one to Mia. That was, if Sophie even said anything to Mia.

Sophie cowered next to Ms. Blake, who had Sophie pressed to her side as the echoes of growling and tearing of flesh came back to the two ladies. Sophie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to wake up from whatever dream she was in, whatever horrible, horrible dream she was in. She knew this wasn't a dream though, it couldn't be. Her mind couldn't come up with this kind of stuff.

Ms. Blake's breaths were coming in fast; Sophie could feel her chest rapidly rising and falling as her hands were on top of Sophie's head, pressing her close as if to protect her from anything that was to come in. Sophie peered out from around Ms. Blake, not being able to see anything, but still hearing the tears of the werewolves' claws ripping through something, or someone.

And then it stopped. Everything went silent. Sophie pushed out of Ms. Blake's grasp. She got to her feet, only to be stopped by Ms. Blake's hand on her arm. Sophie looked down to see Ms. Blake staring at her with wide eyes.

"I have to see what happened." Sophie managed out. Ms. Blake swallowed and let go of Sophie. Sophie slowly walked down the aisle, getting to the gate. She pushed it open and carefully looked around, seeing no sign of the werewolves. She ran down one of the many aisles of the maze that was the boiler room, getting to an opening where there was a man, all bloody and torn up. Sophie managed to catch herself on one of the pipes, not revealing herself and staying in the shadows. The werewolves were in a lump on either side of him. Sophie raised her hands to her mouth to stifle her gasp as she heard two pairs of footsteps running into the clearing.

Derek lifted his head up and looked up as Scott and Isaac came to a stop in front of him. Cora and Boyd were down and out for the count, the sun coming up and making them weaker. He had managed to save both the teacher and the younger Armstrong girl. He took in a heaving breath before speaking.

"There's a teacher…and a girl…" Derek paused, "I'll take care of them. Get Cora and Boyd out of here." Isaac and Scott went over to Cora and Boyd, helping them up. The betas didn't notice the Armstrong girl standing in the shadows, but Derek did. His head turned to her as he got to his feet.

"The teacher…" He trailed off.

"She's—she's back there." Sophie managed, pointing behind her. "Are you okay?" She stepped out of the shadows and up to Derek, taking in his cuts and scratches and bleeding.

"I'll be fine." Derek let out a slow breath.

"Thank you." Sophie suddenly said, looking at the werewolf, "For saving us." Derek nodded his head, stepping closer to her. Sophie had to resist the urge to step back from him.

"Get out of here." Derek was slowly regaining his normal breathing back. "I'll…help your teacher."

"I'm Sophie." Sophie offered, raising her eyebrows.

"I know…who you are." Derek walked past Sophie. Sophie's brow furrowed and she turned around, watching the werewolf's back.

"I don't know who you are." She called after him. Derek stopped walking, tipping his head back before turning around and looking at the girl.

"Ask your sister." He finally said before turning away from Sophie and walking to the supply room. Sophie blinked a bit, eyebrows furrowing as she turned, walking out of the boiler room. She had faith that Derek would help Ms. Blake, since he practically sacrificed himself for both of them.

Sophie walked out of the school, going through the bus lot to get to the shortcut she usually took to get home from school. There was where she found a lone arrow on the ground. She picked it up, twirling it in her fingers as she let the rising sun glint off of it. Her brow furrowed as she stared at it for a moment before looking over her shoulder. Why the hell was there an arrow? It's not like Beacon Hills had an archery team... There was no one around, no one to see her take the arrow and walk back towards home as the sun rose, completing one of the strangest nights of her life.

**A/N: Thank you to all those who have favorited/followed this story! And shoutouts to those who have reviewed: Stilinski Power and JackieOh! xxx**


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